China recalls Lithuania envoy over Taiwan office

China on Tuesday recalled its ambassador to Lithuania and expelled the Baltic nation's top representative to Beijing over the country's decision to allow self-governing Taiwan to open an office in Lithuania under its own name.

Taiwan and Lithuania agreed last month that the office in the capital Vilnius to open this fall will bear the name of Taiwan, rather than "Chinese Taipei," the term used in other countries in order not to offend Beijing, which claims the island as its territory without the right to diplomatic recognition.

Chinese pressure has reduced Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 15, although the state maintains informal ties with all major nations through the use of de facto embassies.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement called on Lithuania to "immediately rectify its wrong decision, take concrete measures to undo the damage, and not to move further down the wrong path."

It also reiterated its condemnation of attempts by Taiwan to establish its own international space. Along with intensifying diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, China has been stepping up its threats to invade the island to bring it under its control by dispatching fighter jets and warships around the island.

Taiwan courted ties with Eastern European nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, citing their past experiences under authoritarian rule and embrace of multiparty democracy and liberal values.

China leveraged its growing economic and diplomatic clout to ensure such relations were only unofficial, although that hasn't tempered Taiwan's desire to find new openings.